Pirate Red

Cristina Montero was born on Rhea, the eldest of two daughters. Little of her early life has been revealed, however her sister Kilana has indicated that Cristina was frequently picked on as a child--most specifically her tormentors used the phrase "rojo piquena," or "Little red riding hood." This may have been the genesis of her rebellious streak, most obvious in her decision to dye her hair first completely red, then shades of blue and pink at the age of fourteen.

While the nature of her early life beyond this initial vignette is unknown, it seemed to set the tone for her later life--owing to her explosive temper, she would get herself in trouble and have to be rescued by her sister.

As the Montero sisters reach adulthood, they move out to the Frontier. Cristina takes the name Pirate Red, perhaps as a callback to the name she'd been teased with as a child. She captains the Alamaraine, a small ship in the Pirate Clans fleet. Owing to her tendency towards brazen attacks and her tendency to lead raids herself, she rises through the ranks and soon comes to the attention of the leader of the Pirate Clans, Dragos.

Dragos and Cristina grow closer and Cristina bears him a daughter, Carmen. At age 3, Carmen is killed when a flock of animals called Ravok devour her. Red never forgives Dragos for this and quietly vows revenge.

Red and Kilana hatch a plan to use the resources of the Blue Dragon Syndicate, a rising power on the Frontier. Essentially an elaborate doublecross, she succeeds in fatally poisoning Dragos. She also steals one of his gauntlets, which with some minor adjustments becomes the prototype for her signature weapon, the Knuckle Buster.

However, while she succeeds in revenging herself on Dragos and taking control of the Pirates, she earns the enmity of Kienan Ademetria, who engages her in combat, humbles her, and vows to return to kill her "when she's earned it." Over the years Red and Kienan will fight many times over the next few years, never coming to a final reckoning. It is unknown at present how the revelation of Kilana's relationship with Kienan would affect that rivalry.

Presently, Pirate Red continues her reign over the Pirates, with Kilana at her side, presently trying to ensure their survival in the face of an increasingly militarized Frontier choking off the Pirates' opportunities to conduct raids. The story is ongoing.

Pirate Red lacks any kind of training, and her fighting style has commonly been regarded as that of a "straight-ahead brawler." When engaged in a battle, Red will usually take the first shot and concentrate enough of her power on her initial attacks to end the fight quickly. Should she be unable to finish the fight in one punch, she is not above utilizing dirty tricks and going for sensitive areas of her opponents anatomy. Additionally, she will take as many blows as needed, rarely blocking, in the name of outlasting her foes.

While she lacks a polished fighting style, Red's greatest advantage is her aggression. Kilana has said "when she's angry, she's invincible. Or just act like she is." Such aggression can give her a strong psychological advantage over lesser opponents.

Red's signature weapon is the Knuckle Buster gauntlet. Originally gleaned from her ex-husband Dragos' gauntlet, the Knuckle Buster has been refined and redesigned substantially by her sister. The gauntlet is part force-field generator and part dynamo. The latest version of the weapon, quite slimmed down compared to the original contains an exoskeleton that offers it rigidity. While it is assumed that it would boost her strength if it were incorporated into a full suit of combat armor, in its current state, it provides increased gripping strength, and Red commonly uses it as a climbing aid, or to strangle her opponents.

The second layer of the glove contains an elaborate network of millimeter, thick force field generators capable of generating a 3 centimeter force field around the glove capable of withstanding sustained force of up to 20,000 psi for up to one minute, though it has never been tested to its limit. The force field is primarily used in tandem with the carbon nanotube weave armor of the glove to protect Red from breaking her hand when she punches something and to shield her from the effects of the glove's ionic disruptor generator.

Housed in the knuckles of the gauntlet are five ionic disruptor contacts. They are capable of generating at maximum power a shock of 3 terawatts of power, though in a typical combat situation, their output is usually in the 50,000 megawatt range. Kilana has added a device within the Buster that allows Red to charge the glove by clenching a fist for more than four seconds (the longer her fist is clenched, the higher the charge) or to lower the charge by relaxing her hands and wiggling her fingers.

Typically, Red will grip an opponent to shock them into unconsciousness, or punch them, releasing a concentrated ionic disruption burst at the point of impact. If Red strikes an inanimate object, such as stone or metal, the disruption magnifies the impact of the punch by a factor of ten. Additionally, the disruption disrupts molecular bonds at the point of impact, which significantly damages the target above and beyond the force of the blow.